A workplace flirtation can sometimes turn into a more serious relationship. The question is how to behave. Should you hide your relationship from the company and can you be punished for your affair?
With an average of seven hours – and sometimes much more – spent each day at work, it is not surprising to see that the workplace is a place conducive to friendships, and more if there is a connection. A study conducted by the risk prevention group Technologia in early 2024 revealed that 46% of employees have already had a romantic relationship, whether fleeting or serious, at work.
Also, every morning, you find yourself at the coffee machine, exchanging knowing glances and discreet smiles. But once the first emotions have passed, it is useful to ask yourself the right questions about the impact this could have on your career and the precautions to take at work. Because although it may seem simpler to reveal everything to your colleagues and your employer, you can legitimately fear that you will be criticized for your lack of seriousness or that it will cause people to gossip behind your back. But what exactly does the law say about this?
Article 9 of the Civil Code stipulates that “Everyone has the right to their privacy”which protects your personal life during and outside of your working hours. You are therefore under no obligation to reveal to your employer if you are having an intimate relationship with a colleague. Better still, thanks to article L1121-1 of the Labor Code, the contract or internal regulations that would prohibit a romantic relationship in a company would have no legal value in France. It is therefore impossible to transfer or dismiss an employee on the grounds that he or she is in a relationship with a colleague. So you are protected!
Be careful, however: if you are not normally required to reveal your office romance to your boss, things get complicated when you or your partner occupy a position of responsibility within the company, because there can be conflict of interests. interest. Being in a relationship with a colleague should certainly not constitute a breach of your obligations as an employee – in this case, the obligation of loyalty.
To put it simply, if you are simple collaborators, you are not required to reveal your relationship to your superiors. But if one of you occupies a position giving access to sensitive information (a position within human resources or management for example), you must notify your superior, because secrecy could constitute a breach of duty. obligation of loyalty towards him. This could also be the case for a manager in a relationship with a person from his team, whose evaluations he would make every year, set the objectives and allocate the variable remuneration, because there would then be a conflict of interest.
In these cases, we advise you not to try to go under the radar, because the sanctions can range from a simple warning to dismissal for serious misconduct. Moreover, the Court of Cassation recently upheld the dismissal of a human resources director who had a secret relationship with an active union representative – and this for five years! –, one being supposed to speak on behalf of management, the other of employees. In these cases, it is therefore better to talk to your employer, who will not necessarily force you to separate.